Guatemala Day 1
Flying over the amber city lights of Guatemala City as the night sky ignites with flashes and bursts of lightening, I couldn’t help but think about the thousands of children who would face the night in fear, abuse, hunger, scared, and alone. Yet, there is still hope! Hundreds of children would be going to sleep with a full belly, loved, cared for, and with a chance. Those are the children being sponsored by Manna World-Wide, those are the children we would be interacting with, and those are the children we would be able to share God’s love with.
I could see the children begin to gather outside of the feeding center in Quetzal. The hallway filled with laughter as children walked from all over the surrounding community for a chance to be filled. I began to see each child like Jesus does. I began to see them like my own, each one being precious in the sight of God. The children entered the feeding center and received a warm nutritious meal. For some, this would be the only mean they would eat that day. In fact, if it were not for the feeding center some of those children would not eat at all.
I met and played with some of the most precious Guatemalan children today. We passed out candy and toys and I played volleyball with a young girl named Michelle. She wore glasses and smiled a lot. She knew my name and kept calling for me to play with her. Then, we played soccer on a broken down road. The children were so much fun to play with! At least for those thirty minutes there wasn’t a care or concern in any of our minds. It was just pure joy. We laughed and made hand motions because we could not speak the same language. A great lesson I was reminded of today, love transcends language, culture, social status, and ethnicity. “And these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). I am thankful for Jesus Christ, the ultimate example of crossing culture to demonstrate love. I want to continue to pour out His love on others. But today, God filled me up with His love through a few Guatemalan children. And now, I am overflowing!
